Up to 90k civilians holed up in Iraq’s Fallujah: UN official

A United Nation official says up to 90,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah, a stronghold of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

In a telephone interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Lise Grande, released the figure, up from a previous estimate of 50,000.

"We have underestimated how many civilians are in Fallujah," Grande said, adding, "People who are coming out are giving us the strong impression that we could be talking about maybe 80,000 to 90,000 civilians that are inside."

She further warned that if Fallujah is not liberated from the grip of Daesh “quickly,” those holed up there could face a "harrowing situation” as the city has been under siege for about six months, with no supplies getting in.

Daesh overran Fallujah in the Western Anbar Province in January 2014, six month before the terror group proceeded with its offensive, taking more areas in Iraq.

On May 23, the Iraqi military started a large-scale push to drive out the terrorists from Fallujah, located nearly 70 kilometers west of the capital, Baghdad.

Elsewhere in her remarks, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq also said that over 20,000 people have managed to flee Fallujah in extremely difficult conditions.

ME